Plant ID card |
|
|---|---|
Botanical name |
Mimosa pudica. |
Common name |
Sensitive, modest Mimosa. |
Family |
Fabaceae. |
Origin |
Tropical America. |
Dimensions |
30 cm high, up to 1 m in its natural environment. It is a bushy plant, erect when young, but becoming creeping and thorny with age. |
Foliage |
The leaves are composed of 2 to 4 pinnae divided by numerous pairs of linear-oblong leaflets 3 and 12 mm long and whose underside bears fine hairs. |
Bloom |
At the end of summer, with pretty bristly glomeruli, formed by numerous very small bell-shaped flowers with 4 long pink stamens with white anthers. |
Exposure |
Bright, without direct sun. |
Ground |
Drained, slightly acidic. |
Rusticity |
10°C. |
Like most tropical plants,
Mimosa pudica
is very cold. Despite this, it accepts being grown in a pot, indoors, respecting a certain number of rules, necessary for its development. We explain which ones to you.
How to take care of a
Mimosa pudica
?
The sensitive is an exotic plant. In our climates, it can be cultivated either as an annual plant or as a
perennial indoor plant
. It can then last a few years (up to 10 years in good growing conditions), if a certain amount of attention is given to it.
The location
: it must be bright. A little full sun during the day promotes generous flowering, but never during the hottest hours, as direct rays will damage the foliage. The ideal temperature is between 16 and 24°C, with installation in a cool room (15°C) in winter;
Watering
: watering with non-calcareous water must be regular, very generous in summer (to keep the substrate moist, but not soggy) and lightened in winter, so that the substrate does not dry out completely. During the summer period, also drench and mist the foliage. You can also place the pot on a tray of gravel or clay balls filled with water;
Fertilization
: provide fertilizer for green plants in spring and summer.
Pruning
: in April, you can prune the stems if their growth is too heavy or disordered;
Repotting
: repotting can be done all year round, whatever the season. However,
Mimosa pudica
appreciates being cramped in its pot. Also, repot it only when the roots come out through the drainage hole. Use a mixture of potting soil and heather soil (or peat) with a little river sand added, to pour over a draining layer of clay balls.
How to propagate
Mimosa pudica
?
The sensitive multiplies very easily by seed, in a warm place (22°C), at any time of the year. Copyright (c) 2017 Jane Bettany/Shutterstock. No use without permission.
The sensitive multiplies very easily by
seed
, in a warm place (22°C), at any time of the year. Seeds can be collected from the pods that the flowers produce. At the end of summer, smothered stem cuttings are also possible, by taking sections approximately 10 cm long.
Why do the leaves of
Mimosa pudica
fold?
What makes the sensitive plant successful is its ability to fold its leaves. Like it, many legumes do it when it is dark or too hot. But its particularity is that it also does so when touched. This reaction is attributed to a
means of defense
of the plant, particularly against attacks by herbivores. By closing its leaflets, the leaves fade away leaving only the thorns visible.